I shall read from "Christ's Object Lessons," beginning on page 60, third paragraph.

"The word of God often comes in collision with man's hereditary and cultivated traits ofcharacter and his habits of life. But the good-ground hearer, in receiving the word, accepts all itsconditions and requirements....

"And he brings forth fruit 'with patience.' None who receive God's word are exempt fromdifficulty and trial; but when affliction comes, the true Christian does not become restless,distrustful, or despondent. Though we can not see the definite outcome of affairs, or discern thepurpose of God's providence, we are not to cast away our confidence. Remembering the tendermercies of the Lord, we should cast our care upon Him, and with patience wait for His salvation.

"Through conflict the spiritual life is strengthened. Trials well borne will develop steadfastnessof character, and precious spiritual graces. The perfect fruit of faith, meekness, and love oftenmatures best amid storm-clouds and darkness."

Let us pray that our spiritual perceptions be quickened so that we shall more readily understandGod's dealings in answer to our prayers; that through conflict the spiritual life is strengthened; thatwe throw not away our confidence when afflictions arise, but that like Paul we rejoice for havingbeen accounted worthy to suffer in patience.

To illustrate the subject of our study this afternoon, let us take for example the book which theDenomination has put out on Daniel and The Revelation, the two most invalued books of theBible. The book which I have in mind was originally entitled Thoughts on Daniel and TheRevelation. It is written in scholarly fashion, and so convincing are its contents that thousands ofcopies have been sold all over the world in a number of languages. Anyone that can write a booklike it, evidently has great knowledge. We should, however, examine to see how muchunderstanding is there on the books of Daniel and of The Revelation themselves.

Take for example Revelation chapter 12, where it speaks of the 12-star-crowned woman. TheDenomination in the book I mentioned explains that this woman is a symbol of the Christianchurch, that her sun-clothing is the Gospel of Christ, and the public seems to take it in very nicely.

But if the brethren were asked the question: "How could the woman be a symbol of theChristian church, and at the same time be Christ's

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mother?" They will have a time answering, for Christ Himself brought the Christian church intobeing thirty or more years after He was born. Consequently she could not be His mother.

And if they were asked, "How could the woman's sun-clothing symbolize the Christian churchclothed with the Gospel of Christ, as you contend?" they would have a hard time answering forshe was clothed with the sun before Christ was born, and before the Gospel even came into being.

Were these questions put to the brethren, I am sure they would become profoundly confused intrying to answer. But the fact that no one asks these questions, shows that there is altogether toolittle understanding throughout Christendom.

Again you cannot deny the fact that the Denomination has made a very scholarly exposition ofThe Seven Trumpets, of plowing through such an intricate symbolism, propping their explanationsof it with commentaries and history and making the people take it as nicely as they do. By theirscholarly methods, though, they contend that the locusts which were released as soon as theHeavenly Star unlocked "the bottomless pit" at the sounding of the fifth trumpet (Rev. 9:1-3), aresymbolical of the armies of the Mohammedans. This they do in spite of the fact that the locustswere not to kill anybody, but only to torment those who had not the seal of God in theirforeheads, whereas the Mohammedans killed everybody that stood against them, especially theChristians, those who had the seal.

Moreover, the brethren explain that the 200,000,000 horses and horsemen that were to kill

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a third part of men (Rev. 9:18), are symbolical of a Mohammedan cavalry, although theMohammedans never had such a large cavalry in all their existence.

Furthermore, John the Revelator plainly tells that the horses' tails were like serpents, and theirheads the heads of lions belching fire, smoke, and brimstone. Contrary to these facts, the brethrensay that the horses were common Arabian horses, that Turks armed with guns were riding them,that John failed to detect that the fire, smoke and brimstone came from the guns, not from thehorses' mouths.

I say for one to so garble the Scriptures and yet make people believe that he is thus unfoldingTruth, he must have great ability, but too little understanding of the fact that if John was left toblunder in this part of his vision, he could have been left to blunder all through The Revelation,and that for anyone who thus voices his opinion of the Scriptures is not building but tearing downfaith in all the prophets, causing one to say that if the Scriptures be so imperfect as they makethem appear to be, then what good are they? And how can we find the Truth and be saved by It,for if the prophets themselves could not tell the facts, then how can any of us do so thousands ofyears after their time?

Since the brethren have not been able to see this, and since no one who has studied theirexpositions of them been able to either, then does it not appear to you that although there is muchknowledge everywhere, there is very little understanding anywhere?

Here Paul reproved those whose knowledge seemed to be great, but their understanding dull,those who had not spiritually advanced commensurate with the time, who could not stick strictlyto what the Word says, were not developed into full-grown Christians. He was, therefore urgedto say:

1 Cor. 3:2 -- "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it,neither yet now are ye able."

Paul was disappointed with the progress which the Corinthians had made: They were still unableto take strong meat. Concretely speaking, he said--

1 Cor. 3:3, 4 -- "For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, anddivisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, Iam of Apollos; are ye not carnal?"

By taking sides, some for Paul and some for Apollos, they were actually accepting what Godhad sent through one messenger, and rejecting what He had sent through the other messenger. This you will see even more vividly in the verses which follow:

1 Cor. 3:5-7 -- "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, evenas the

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Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So thenneither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase."

God is everything, and the men of His appointment are only His mouthpiece.

1 Cor. 3:8, 9 -- "Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receivehis own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye areGod's husbandry, ye are God's building."

This side-choosing was ruining the Christians in Paul's day, and it is ruining them in our day;that is, people are setting their affections on men who bring them the knowledge of the Gospelrather than on the One Who sends them with the Gospel. And worse than this is the fact thatmultitudes are setting their affection even on men who have not a spark of Inspiration, men whoare not sent by God at all, but who are running loose of their own accord.

1 Cor. 3:10 -- "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, Ihave laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how hebuildeth thereupon."

The Christian's life is, as it were, a building under construction. One messenger of God lays thefoundation, another builds thereupon. Thus to no one messenger is given all the material withwhich to build.

Consequently, if anyone should choose to give heed to this or to that messenger instead of to

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God and to all His servants as He Himself sends them one after another, that one will certainly beleft with insufficient building material, and consequently without the acquirement which he needsto have at the coming of the Lord.

1 Cor. 3:11-18 -- "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealedby fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which hehath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall sufferloss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall Goddestroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If anyman among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise."

Here we are told that the theories -- wood, hay, stubble -- brought in by men whom God hasnot sent, not inspired, such as I called your attention to at the beginning, theories which appear toarise from a great store of knowledge, but which are devoid of the Spirit, are as you already seerubbish on which the fire of God thrives and the souls of men starve.

And again we are told that worldly wisdom is foolishness with God, and that if we wish ourstructure of Truth to withstand the storm, we need to throw out the rubbish and take all the

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God-sent materials as we continue building.

1 Cor. 3:19, 20 -- "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, Hetaketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise,that they are vain."

Since the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, we had better have nothing to do withit, and quit taking sides -- one for Luther, another for Wesley, still another for Campbell, or White-- but we had better stand with the Lord, and accept all the Truths from all His servants Hechooses to send. Otherwise when we arrive at the door He will have to say to us, "Depart fromMe, I never knew you."

1 Cor. 3:21, 22 -- "Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's; whether Paul, orApollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all areyour's."

To glory in man, whether it be in self or in another, is to cheat yourself of everything. Take forexample the Jews: They were determined to "be of Moses," and as they saw it, to accept theprophets, or even Christ, to them it meant to give up Moses! As a result, rather than all thingsbeing theirs, they lost everything, even Moses, and where are they today? The wood, hay, andstubble which they piled upon the structure of Truth after Moses left them, has long been sweptaway by the Fire of Truth, the Holy Spirit.

The only safe way to build is with Truth sent from the throne of God. This is how

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Moses, the prophets, and the apostles built, and this is how we must build. Moses, for example,founded his structure of Truth on the solid rock of creation, the Genesis, on the work of HimWho created the worlds (Heb. 1:1). The prophets after him, also the apostles, continued buildingon the same foundation, not on the theories of the priests and rabbis, the so-called religiouseducators of that day. And that is why their structure of Truth stands today firmer than everbefore.

Knowledge, you see, devoid of Divine understanding is as devastating to the soul as is fire letloose in a house that is built of wood and hay. Let us therefore no longer be side-choosers, butcome to the table which God has spread so abundantly with spiritual food, and unbiasedly and freefrom prejudice feast to the full, refresh our souls and strengthen our backbones with goodunderstanding so that we may be able to stand against the chronic ills of worldly knowledge; thatwe overcome temptation in the strength of the Mighty One, and be permitted to have a part inproclaiming the message when it shall swell into the Loud Cry.

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Soon He Comes

Long upon the mountain, weary, Have the scattered flock been torn; Dark the desert paths, and dreary; Grievous trials have they borne. Now the gathering call is sounding, Solemn in its warning voice; Union, faith, and love, abounding, Bid the little flock rejoice.

Now the light of truth they're seeking, In its onward track pursue; All the ten commandments keeping, They are holy, just, and true. On the words of life they're feeding, Precious to their taste, so sweet; All their Master's precepts heeding, Bowing humbly at His feet.

In that world of light and beauty, In that golden city fair, Soon its pearly gates they'll enter, And of all its glories share. There, divine the soul's expansions; Free from sin, and death, and pain; Tears will never dim those mansions Where the saints immortal reign.

Soon He comes! with clouds descending; All His saints, entombed, arise; The redeemed, in anthems blending, Shout their victory through the skies. O, we long for Thine appearing; Come, O Saviour, quickly come! Blessed hope! our spirits cheering, Take Thy ransomed children home.

--Annie R. Smith.

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